A-bomb in Effingham

If you've driven down Ga. 21 in Rincon and noticed the patch of forest that is no more, you may have said to yourself, "Geez, it looks like someone dropped a bomb over there."

I think that to myself every time I pass the old research forest tract, and chuckle when I see that poor building that once housed the offices for the research forest tract officials. It looks like someone dropped an A-bomb on that area of land and by the grace of God, just that one little house was left.

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Just a guess, it's cleared for a new development with that building remaining as a Contractor Office?

I hate when they do this. I suppose it is cost effective as they put in sewer/water/utility lines all at once. As well as the ease of big trucks and deliveries. But would it really hurt if they mapped out and left a few older trees in the grid?

If we were to buy a new house in a new development, we'd love a shady backyard. Not a newly landscaped yard with trees that will take 10 years to reach 30 feet. I want to hang my hammock up as soon as possible.

You think this is funny??? You think this is OK???? What the hell are you thinking? Why aren't you asking questions like: Why did you do this? Who did it? What can I do to make sure that the people responsible for this don't make a damn dime on it?

The fact is that when a developer (sic) does this, he does it because it is CHEAPER to do it than preserve the tree canopy and make less money.

Would I buy in a place like this? Not on your life! Would I do everything I could to see that this defiler of the land didn't make a dime on it? You bet.

Once upon a time, I worked for a local government and proposed a revision to their development laws that incorporated tree preservation principles. It is not hard to do ... you decide (with public input) what you want to save post-development. Do you want virgin forest or barren desert or a street-covering canopy or just "specimen trees" of particular age and size? Once you have made that determination, you adopt a revised ordinance that incorporates that requirement.Understand that the developers will buck this as hard as possible: most are short-sighted opportunists with as much social conscience as a horde of locusts. They are looking to make a quick buck before they move on to the next area to "develop." But there are some in the development industry who are starting to wise up. That big tree on the houselot they save (the preservation of which probably cost them about a thousand bucks in extra materials and work) adds five thousand to the price they can charge for the house and lot. Those trees they saved along the road will save them tens of thousands in interest costs by facilitating the turn-around of the development once it goes on the market. Educating the dummies is the job of those who would promote tree preservation ... it's not hard, but it is essential if you want your local leaders (most of whom are buddies and/or colleagues of the developers) to adopt this kind of law.Tree preservation is good conservation, and it is good business. Contact Georgia Forestry and the Sierra Club ... they have tons of literature and sample ordinances for you to use. Get politicial. Make a noise at meetings about this issue.It is better to be dishing the pain that suffering it, after all.